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The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen
A richly detailed historical novel from master storyteller Nicholas Christopher that School Library Journal calls “[A] lush tale of music, magic, and intrigue”!
Nicolò Zen is all alone in 1700s Venice, save for his clarinet, which a mysterious magician had enchanted, allowing its first player to perform expertly. Soon Nicolò is a famous virtuoso, wealthy beyond his dreams, but he can’t stop wondering if he earned the success himself—or what might happen if the spell were removed. And throughout it all, he continues to think about the girl he met in Venice, what she might be doing and if she’s safe from harm.
With a guest appearance by composer Vivaldi, and brimming with fascinating period details, this is a compelling coming-of-age story full of universal themes and a love story that will conjure memories of Romeo and Juliet, perfect for teens who love stories set in other times, and a magician who dresses all in white and can be in two places at once. . . .
Nicolò Zen is all alone in 1700s Venice, save for his clarinet, which a mysterious magician had enchanted, allowing its first player to perform expertly. Soon Nicolò is a famous virtuoso, wealthy beyond his dreams, but he can’t stop wondering if he earned the success himself—or what might happen if the spell were removed. And throughout it all, he continues to think about the girl he met in Venice, what she might be doing and if she’s safe from harm.
With a guest appearance by composer Vivaldi, and brimming with fascinating period details, this is a compelling coming-of-age story full of universal themes and a love story that will conjure memories of Romeo and Juliet, perfect for teens who love stories set in other times, and a magician who dresses all in white and can be in two places at once. . . .
288 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Nicholas Christopher
37 books177 followersNicholas Christopher was born and raised in New York City. He was educated at Harvard College, where he studied with Robert Lowell and Anthony Hecht. Afterward, he traveled and lived in Europe. He became a regular contributor to the New Yorker in his early twenties, and began publishing his work in other leading magazines, both in the United States and abroad, including Esquire, the New Republic, the New York Review of Books, the Nation, and the Paris Review. He has appeared in numerous anthologies, including the Norton Anthology of Poetry, the Paris Review 50th Anniversary Anthology, the Best American Poetry, Poet's Choice, the Everyman's Library Poems of New York and Conversation Pieces, the Norton Anthology of Love, the Faber Book of Movie Verse, and the Grand Street Reader. He has edited two major anthologies himself, Under 35: The New Generation of American Poets (Anchor, 1989) and Walk on the Wild Side: Urban American Poetry Since 1975 (Scribner, 1994) and has translated Martial and Catullus and several modern Greek poets, including George Seferis and Yannis Ritsos. His books have been translated and published many other countries, and he is the recipient of numerous awards and fellowships from various institutions, including the Guggenheim Foundation, the Academy of American Poets, the Poetry Society of America, and the National Endowment for the Arts. He has taught at Yale, Barnard College, and New York University, and is now a Professor on the permanent faculty of the Writing Division of the School of the Arts at Columbia University. He lives in New York City with his wife, Constance Christopher, and continues to travel widely, most frequently to Venice, the Hawaiian island of Kauai, and the Grenadines.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews
August 9, 2014
This may turn out to be one of those books librarians like more than their students. I'll find out in a few weeks. I was entranced by the language and adventures. It's definitely more of a tell than show book, but because the descriptions are so wonderful I appreciated that. This is for the slow careful reader who relishes words and worlds. Some complain that there wasn't enough magic, but I thought it was perfect. More magical realism than fantasy. A feeling like The Shadow of the Wind by Ruiz Zafon.
October 3, 2023
I was totally not expecting the magic and the mystery that it had, I did like the nice ending that it had, but I super simple read
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 22, 2017
2.75-3 stars, i really liked it and it was a good story. It just didn't have that WOW factor that would make it 4 stars
October 23, 2019
3.5 Stars
In 1700s Italy, young Nicolo Zen is left orphaned and homeless after his family is wiped out in a malaria outbreak. Before his father died, Nicolo was gifted a clarinet. The clarinet came to Nicolo's father, a mason, as a form of payment for a fireplace he built. Made of ivory and gold, the clarinet turns out to be enchanted, giving Nicolo the ability to play perfectly virtually from the first note.
Nicolo travels to Venice to start his life over, but is soon forced into a life of begging. In time, he notices that female orphans tend to fare better, many of them taken in as students at the Ospedale school, where they are taught history, music, math, Latin and catechism. Conversely, many of the city's young male orphans take up lives of crime or hard labor. So Nicolo makes the decision to start presenting himself as Nicola, a young orphaned girl who just happens to be a clarinet virtuoso. Also in his favor, Nicolo is blessed with perfect pitch / musical memory.
Nicolo(a) quickly rises through the ranks in the Ospedale orchestra, guided by the famous composer Vivaldi. But this also means that it takes no time for our protagonist to develop enemies among some of the more jealous females. As "Nicola" navigates all this, another part of the story suggests that Aldo, a blind man working at the school, is secretly trafficking girls who have "disappeared" from the Ospedale roster. When this comes to Nicolo's attention, Aldo threatens to reveal the cross-dressing secret if Nicolo doesn't turn over his friend Adriana to Aldo.
Nicolo is able to temporarily thwart Aldo's criminal behavior, but it then means Nicolo is forced to flee the city. Luckily, he is given an opportunity to perform as a solo artist across Vienna and Austria. Within two years, he's found fame and fortune but his past is never far from him. Not only does he constantly wonder what happened to the girls victimized by Aldo, but Aldo himself makes a reappearance in Nicolo's life. Over the course of those two years, Nicolo does everything in his power to track down any information regarding his old friends Adriana and Julietta. When his digging brings Aldo back around, he realizes he has to put an end to this dark part of his story once and for all.
Abuse, murder, human trafficking .... the themes certainly ran darker than I was anticipating for this YA novel, especially considering the cover art! Even so, the touch of magic and mystery Christopher weaves in certainly kept the pages turning for me. While the historical setting was fun, I craved just a little more of it all around. I also would've liked to know more of the story behind the mysterious Mossimo, maybe even a more expansive history on the clarinet and the various owners it has had... might've been a pretty neat story to work with there. There were just a number of things in the plot that ended up feeling a little too rushed in the explanation.
In 1700s Italy, young Nicolo Zen is left orphaned and homeless after his family is wiped out in a malaria outbreak. Before his father died, Nicolo was gifted a clarinet. The clarinet came to Nicolo's father, a mason, as a form of payment for a fireplace he built. Made of ivory and gold, the clarinet turns out to be enchanted, giving Nicolo the ability to play perfectly virtually from the first note.
Nicolo travels to Venice to start his life over, but is soon forced into a life of begging. In time, he notices that female orphans tend to fare better, many of them taken in as students at the Ospedale school, where they are taught history, music, math, Latin and catechism. Conversely, many of the city's young male orphans take up lives of crime or hard labor. So Nicolo makes the decision to start presenting himself as Nicola, a young orphaned girl who just happens to be a clarinet virtuoso. Also in his favor, Nicolo is blessed with perfect pitch / musical memory.
Nicolo(a) quickly rises through the ranks in the Ospedale orchestra, guided by the famous composer Vivaldi. But this also means that it takes no time for our protagonist to develop enemies among some of the more jealous females. As "Nicola" navigates all this, another part of the story suggests that Aldo, a blind man working at the school, is secretly trafficking girls who have "disappeared" from the Ospedale roster. When this comes to Nicolo's attention, Aldo threatens to reveal the cross-dressing secret if Nicolo doesn't turn over his friend Adriana to Aldo.
Nicolo is able to temporarily thwart Aldo's criminal behavior, but it then means Nicolo is forced to flee the city. Luckily, he is given an opportunity to perform as a solo artist across Vienna and Austria. Within two years, he's found fame and fortune but his past is never far from him. Not only does he constantly wonder what happened to the girls victimized by Aldo, but Aldo himself makes a reappearance in Nicolo's life. Over the course of those two years, Nicolo does everything in his power to track down any information regarding his old friends Adriana and Julietta. When his digging brings Aldo back around, he realizes he has to put an end to this dark part of his story once and for all.
Abuse, murder, human trafficking .... the themes certainly ran darker than I was anticipating for this YA novel, especially considering the cover art! Even so, the touch of magic and mystery Christopher weaves in certainly kept the pages turning for me. While the historical setting was fun, I craved just a little more of it all around. I also would've liked to know more of the story behind the mysterious Mossimo, maybe even a more expansive history on the clarinet and the various owners it has had... might've been a pretty neat story to work with there. There were just a number of things in the plot that ended up feeling a little too rushed in the explanation.
June 15, 2018
I was actually given this book as a gift for Christmas by two of my close friends. It’s kind of funny actually, they got it at the dollar store. I think they just kinda picked out a random book, but I don’t really care, I appreciated the gesture. As for the book, it was okay. It has an interesting theme and good ideas, but I feel like there were lots of loose ends and such. Lots of things popped up but didn’t get much further explanation. There were defiantly parts as well as continued themes that I was a bit confused about and didn’t really understand. Overall, it wasn’t bad, just not great. Good ideas, but not a great execution.
February 7, 2017
Christopher has such an evocative way of describing surroundings and garments - it's something I particularly loved about Veronica and A Trip To The Stars as well. The story itself is not particularly innovative, but it was perfectly transporting, and allowed me to forget my worries about the rest of the world for a day or so.
September 27, 2023
This book was really good in my opinion. I think that it has a good amount of magic, it blended very well with the historical aspect. I also like how the author told the story it was easy to understand. It was one of those books I just couldn't let go. I would definitely recommend if you like a little bit of magic, teen love story, and historical fiction.
December 27, 2018
Montana Library 2Go | ultimately unsatisfying | something about the pacing, or possibly where the author placed his focus, just let me down. I felt like little was truly happening, and what did happen was mostly through coincidence or someone else taking the reins of the protagonist's life.
October 21, 2018
A quick read. Not too much magic, but enough to make it enjoyable. A happy ending.
March 30, 2019
I loved it. Reminiscent of Veronica.
November 8, 2020
Shared this one with my son who plays the clarinet. We loved it! He felt extra connected to the character thanks to his music and the magic of the story.
January 24, 2024
read this years ago. very good
January 3, 2026
this was in the book isle of a dollar store when i was seven and i knew i needed to read it; i was absolutely right. go and read it.
December 16, 2014
For more reviews, Cover Snark and more, visit A Reader of Fictions.
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Oddly, this book reminded me of a shoujo manga (La Corda d’Oro) that I was sort of obsessed with for a while, despite the fact that it was absurd and based on a romance video game. Whatever. So in this series, a fair of music gifts a girl a magical violin and enters her in a competition with the most skilled music students at her school. The violin basically makes her a prodigy. This same basic premise is where we start with The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen. Nicolò was gifted a magic clarinet, and it defines his life.
The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen is a rather strange book, and different from a lot of what is on the market today. The book follows Nicolò from 14 through adulthood, although latter largely comes in the last chapter. He goes from childhood to being an independent adult. What started as a middle grade quickly shifted through YA to a more adult focus. The premise is quite unique, as are the settings.
The historical aspects of The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen were delightful. It’s set predominantly in Italy, in various cities, but also in Vienna. There’s a mixture of high society and the most destitute, and both the good and bad of each economic level is shown. Vivaldi is a character in the novel, which definitely made me want to look up his and other classical pieces. There’s some interesting musical history in here. I never knew the clarinet was so much more recent than many of the other instruments, and I enjoyed learning its history.
The first part of the novel was my favorite. Orphaned when his entire family dies of malaria, Nicolò leaves his small island and heads to Venice. At first he begs for money, but then he begins to play his clarinet to earn enough for a small room, shared with two creepy guys. He comes up with an idea: pretending to be a girl to get into the orphanage for females who play musical instruments, at which Vivaldi worked. Males don’t often genderbend in fiction, so that was a refreshing change, and convincingly done.
Though I loved the concept, I felt like Nicolò was lacking in development. He was traveling in this marvelous landscape, but he bored me. He goes through life far too easily, despite all the terrible things that happen around him. Ultimately, all of his problems are resolved through the fantasy plot line, which involves a bunch of magical brothers all over the world. The fact that they took care of everything made it feel like Nicolò never grew up or changed, and I wasn’t sure why Nicolò was the protagonist. What am I meant to get from this?
The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen will be most appealing for historical readers who want to travel the 18th century landscape of classical music in Europe. That’s the real highlight of the novel.
Actual Rating: 2.5 stars
Oddly, this book reminded me of a shoujo manga (La Corda d’Oro) that I was sort of obsessed with for a while, despite the fact that it was absurd and based on a romance video game. Whatever. So in this series, a fair of music gifts a girl a magical violin and enters her in a competition with the most skilled music students at her school. The violin basically makes her a prodigy. This same basic premise is where we start with The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen. Nicolò was gifted a magic clarinet, and it defines his life.
The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen is a rather strange book, and different from a lot of what is on the market today. The book follows Nicolò from 14 through adulthood, although latter largely comes in the last chapter. He goes from childhood to being an independent adult. What started as a middle grade quickly shifted through YA to a more adult focus. The premise is quite unique, as are the settings.
The historical aspects of The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen were delightful. It’s set predominantly in Italy, in various cities, but also in Vienna. There’s a mixture of high society and the most destitute, and both the good and bad of each economic level is shown. Vivaldi is a character in the novel, which definitely made me want to look up his and other classical pieces. There’s some interesting musical history in here. I never knew the clarinet was so much more recent than many of the other instruments, and I enjoyed learning its history.
The first part of the novel was my favorite. Orphaned when his entire family dies of malaria, Nicolò leaves his small island and heads to Venice. At first he begs for money, but then he begins to play his clarinet to earn enough for a small room, shared with two creepy guys. He comes up with an idea: pretending to be a girl to get into the orphanage for females who play musical instruments, at which Vivaldi worked. Males don’t often genderbend in fiction, so that was a refreshing change, and convincingly done.
Though I loved the concept, I felt like Nicolò was lacking in development. He was traveling in this marvelous landscape, but he bored me. He goes through life far too easily, despite all the terrible things that happen around him. Ultimately, all of his problems are resolved through the fantasy plot line, which involves a bunch of magical brothers all over the world. The fact that they took care of everything made it feel like Nicolò never grew up or changed, and I wasn’t sure why Nicolò was the protagonist. What am I meant to get from this?
The True Adventures of Nicolò Zen will be most appealing for historical readers who want to travel the 18th century landscape of classical music in Europe. That’s the real highlight of the novel.
October 30, 2014
A young teen is orphaned by a malaria epidemic that strikes his small island near Venice. He is 14, homeless and penniless, but he does have his precious clarinet, which is a little-known, new instrument that he can play with astonishing skill. Feeling that music is his only future, Nicolo disguises himself as a girl in order to be accepted to the orchestra that is run by Master Antonio Vivaldi and whose members are all orphan girls from the Ospedale della Pieta. Quite soon, however, his disguise is penetrated and he finds himself fleeing for his life after stumbling upon corruption at the very heart of the Ospedale. He discovers that his talent for the clarinet is actually not natural, that the instrument has been spelled by the magician Massimo. This begins a series of adventures that lead him to Vienna and back, into incredible wealth and fame. This odd story may appeal to some teens but it gets a little boring in places (musically trained readers may find the lists of pieces that Nicolo learns interesting but the average teen will skim this) and the ending falls a little flat. Some magical realism, some romance, and an atmospheric Venice of the 1700s do help to make the story more interesting, but overall, the rather stiff writing just doesn't shine. Upper junior high, high school, adult.
January 11, 2015
It's 1714. Venice. In Germany, the clarinet has recently been invented and Nicolo acquires one from his father. It is beautiful, exotic, and made of ivory and gold. Moreover, it has been enchanted by a magician and Nicolo knows this. When he had been given it as a small boy, he discovered its secret: if he had a tune in mind--could hear it in his head--then he could play it perfectly on that clarinet. And now that Nicolo's parents have died of malaria, he is tired of playing the instrument on the streets for coins. It's cold, he's regularly hungry and now he has hit upon a way to solve
his difficulties. He is auditioning for a place in an orphanage, the Ospedale della Pieta, which has an orchestra of children. An orchestra of all girls. So Nicolo is now dressed as a girl and the Master who accepts him into the orchestra is Master Antonio Vivaldi.
How long can he keep his two secrets? What would be the cost of discovery?
The story also has a few fine villains, some magic and magicians, some loyal friends and a bit of luck. The real question is, however, whether the clarinet will become part of Faustian bargain that will claim his soul.
Interesting blend of history, historical fiction and fantasy. (271 p.)
The Ospedale is also the setting for Vivaldi's Virgins by Barbara Quick. Reviews are at:
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...
December 30, 2013
This story is the perfect blend of magic and historical intrigue. Young destitute Nicolo Zen and his clarinet are on the streets playing to survive when he gets it into his head to try out for a very prestigious orchestra, one made up entirely of young girls. To do so Nicolo becomes Nicola and his talent soon becomes legendary. When the girls begin missing and Nicola becomes one of the next victims, the secret is out and he is cast from Master Vivaldi's special orchestra. Back again on the streets with only his clarinet, he finds a friend in his father's cousin who is a famed magician. Once Nicolo learns of the secret behind his talent he agrees to help the magician so that the magician can help him find the missing girls. Years go by and Nicolo becomes well known not only in Venice but in Vienna. It is an interesting mystery and good combination of musical history, mystery and love. Found in the young adult section but this will appeal to adults as well.
August 5, 2016
I liked this book a lot, but I was a little confused as to who the audience was supposed to really be and what kind of story the book was trying to tell. A great deal of it is a historical story about a youth who rises to fame on a magic clarinet, but then there is a substory about crossdressing, violence towards women, and orphans discovering who their real parents are... not to mention the 'Romeo and Juliet' aspect that the author was going for in the synopsis between the main protagonist and a female character... two female characters? - I love the concept, but the story itself is a little confusing. Given the nature of the book, I'd give this to teens and young adults rather than juveniles.
April 19, 2014
14-year-old Nicholas Zen is a gifted musician with an enchanted Clarinet, but in 1714 Venice, the newly invented instrument is uncommon. Recently orphaned, and disguised as a girl, he is admitted to the elite girl’s orchestra at the Ospedale in Venice, under the direction of Master Luca. But, when girls start disappearing, can Nicolas keep his identity secret?
This historical fiction is a nice travelogue of major European cities, and the action is well written and exciting, however it often gets lost in the descriptions which slows down the story, has a few anachronisms (matches in 1714?) and the magical elements feel forced. This opened with a bang, but didn’t deliver.
crossposted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
This historical fiction is a nice travelogue of major European cities, and the action is well written and exciting, however it often gets lost in the descriptions which slows down the story, has a few anachronisms (matches in 1714?) and the magical elements feel forced. This opened with a bang, but didn’t deliver.
crossposted to http://kissthebook.blogspot.com CHECK IT OUT!
October 19, 2016
I really liked this book, but I may be a bit impartial seeing that I am a violinist. I thought it was interesting to get a little bit of background on the clarinet in the book, which I didn't even think about being new at the time. I am also a history nerd, so the settings in historical Europe were so interesting to me. Plus, the little throw in of magic I like. Hey, who doesn't want a little bit of fantasy in their life?
I can see where the author could've put in a little more character development. Nicolo's character didn't really have any major moments of change where he became a better person. I wouldn't classify him as flat, though. He still had many good qualities.
I can see where the author could've put in a little more character development. Nicolo's character didn't really have any major moments of change where he became a better person. I wouldn't classify him as flat, though. He still had many good qualities.
February 20, 2014
Just finished reading The True Adventures of Nicolo Zen by Nicholas Christopher. I love his adult books, and this was his first stab at middle grade fiction. It features an orphan in 1700s Venice who has a magical clarinet and winds up travelling to Vienna and other parts of Europe. It should have been right up my alley, but while it was very well written the story just fell flat for me. I didn’t care much for the characters and thought the clarinet was underutilized in the plot. A big missed opportunity. So this one gets 3 stars.
March 6, 2014
This book started out with such promise but then just lost it halfway through. I plodded on and on and kept thinking of the question "Why did you finish this book?" My answer to myself was that I initially planned on reviewing it for our Teens Read blog. As I slogged on and on I knew that wasn't an answer I wanted to give. So I skimmed the rest of the book and change my scheduled review! Too bad! I really liked the idea of a magical clarinet!
September 8, 2016
Like reading a biography of Mozart where magicians come out to play. Nicolo Zen is a recently orphaned venetian boy whose only possession is a magical clarinet that only he can play. After disguising himself as a girl in order to join an orchestra made of up of orphans, his adventures really begin. The kind of off-kilter, slightly sinister magic you might remember from The Night Circus, but also a compelling portrait of Venice and Vienna in the early 18th century.
July 23, 2015
Nicolo is left to his own devices after the plague has left his entire family dead. He goes to Venice to try to make his way there. He has a magic clarinet in his possession, and he wants to get into an orchestra. Luckily, there is an orchestra made of of orphaned children. Unfortunately, it is only for girls. Nicolo is young enough that he can pass for a girl, but how long will his charade work?
August 9, 2016
fun read but nothing special. really love this author's writing, which was still good here, but something was just a little off / lacking in depth that i usually expect at this point. it was also very short. main character was interesting though and the almost present telling of the story was also good. i would recommend but not as a front runner.
June 7, 2014
Disclaimer: I'm a huge fan of Nicholas Christopher's fiction. I like the magical elements in his stories and his vivid descriptions of locations. You can picture the scene, no matter how unreal it is. While reading this book I was reminder of The 100 Year Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window ...
Other Cristopher favorites include: Veronica and A Trip to the Stars.
Other Cristopher favorites include: Veronica and A Trip to the Stars.
November 19, 2015
Part fantasy, part historical fiction, with a clarinet-playing boy as the main character. It is certainly an original story! Some of the content was more mature than I would want my 10 year old to read, but the musical intrigue was compelling. I also enjoyed the role of the Vienna orphanage for musical girls and the character of Vivaldi, since that is a fascinating part of music history.
December 2, 2015
The imagery and quirky characters were well done. I especially wanted more on the slightly weird and extremely talented magician. The premise of the book, however, is better suited to a novel for grown ups instead of YA. I think students will have difficulty swallowing the minimal history used to set the tale as well as the broad leaps between dangerous situations.
February 16, 2014
Another lovely bit of American Magic Realism from Nicholas Christopher. This is probably my third or fourth favorite of his novels, but that is actually high praise. I was somewhat disappointed by the abrupt and too-neat conclusion, but I enjoyed all of the parts of the story for their own sake.
April 2, 2015
Interesting idea of putting the (enchanted) 'first' clarinet in its historical setting. It is refreshing to read of a boy who 'makes it big' and is still good-hearted after he has the means to pay back those who had helped him in the past.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 42 reviews